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Well, well, well… Just a couple of weeks left to go in turkey season, and folks, I'm not gonna lie. It's been a rough few weeks for us turkey hunters, what with the erratic Alabama weather we get every April. The gobblers haven't been doing much gobbling, so it's been fairly slow, and with the forecast as it is, it's gonna be a crawl to the finish.

So when the going gets rough with the birds this time of year, I start looking toward the water. Something a little more calm and relaxing than chasing the turkeys. You know; bream fishing! Just sit on a pier or on a chair at the bank, drop a line with a bobber and a cricket from a cane pole, and just pull 'em in. Maybe a nice cold beverage in a solo cup, if you know what I mean.

Now, sure, bass fishing is king around here. No doubt about that! But bream fishing is a Zen sort of activity, perfect for relaxing and enjoying a day at the pond. And it's also cheap and easy to do! All you need is a cane pole, some good line, a hook, a bobber, and some bait. No need for fancy boats or a box full of 50 types of lures. A mess of crickets or red worms will do the trick, or maybe a simple spinner you just pull across the surface. Bream are pretty aggressive little things, feeding on anything that looks tasty, so if you're at a bream bed, you won't be waiting long for a bite!

Now, finding a bream bed is pretty simple. During spring, around March and April, bream move to the shallow areas near banks to bed, preferring sand or gravel bottoms. That large concentration of fish means you can actually smell the little things from above the water, believe it or not. If you're taking a stroll along the bank of a pond or lake and smell some fish, you're not imagining it. They're there!

I prefer live bait for bream, as it's a little throwback to the old days of fishing, just as a hobby. Of course, bream are pretty keen on live bait as well, so you'll do well with crickets for sure. The neat thing, of course, is that with live bait, you might also catch something a little bigger! Bass and catfish aren't strangers to eating crickets either, so you might get a little extra excitement on the end of that line!

Bream are pretty good for eating too, so if you wanna fill a cooler up, you're catching the right type of fish. State limit is 50 bream per day, which is plenty enough for anyone. All you need, legally speaking, is an Alabama freshwater fishing license for any public waters you want to fish in. In your home county, you can fish with basic hook and line with live bait at any private lake or pond without a license.

Don't get me wrong, folks. I'm not giving up on these turkeys just yet. But I also have a deep appreciation for the fun and peace that some good old fishing gives me on a warm spring afternoon. I hope each of you can find some time and enjoy this activity as well. So grab a pole, wet your hook, and go get'em.

Steve Long and Rob Newman can be heard on their Cast & Blast radio show from 7-9 a.m. on Sports radio 740-AM. Please sends any comments or ideas about their column to sports@montgomeryadvertiser.com.